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Causes that Led to the American Civil War

  • The Appearance of an Abolitionist Sentiment

    During the early 1800s, many North citizens in the US began to pass laws about abolishing slavery within their own boundaries, given a growing displeasure about the Northerners' economy system, which was based on slavery.
  • No More Slave Trade

    Northerners persuaded the Congress to outlway the arrival of new slaves from Africa into the United States.
  • The Spreading of the States in the West

    Each new state meant a new conflict between the North and the South, where the latter claimed that the restriction of slavery would break the principles of the states' rights, while the Northerners longed for a complete abolishment.
  • Increasing the Tension

    Abolitionist sentiment became stronger in the North, whereas the Southerners feared for the extintion of slavery, which was thought to be their way of life.
  • A Divided Nation

    Many Northern states decided to invest in industry and their economies went from farming to urbanization, whereas the Southerners preferred to invest their money in slave labor, which mainly involved cotton and tobacco production.
  • Bleeding Kansas

    The first physical fighting over slavery wasn't the Civil War itself, but the Kansas conflict. Residents had to determine the ideology of the region, wether it would be a free state or a slave state. Kansas counted with plenty of supporters from both sides and fought over the issue for years, suffering many casualties.
  • The Dissolution of the American Soil

    Abraham Lincoln, who was believed to be anti-slavery, was elected president. South Carolina and six other states separated from the Union and formed a Confederacy, that is to say, a "new country" based on slavery.
  • The Civil War

    After Lincoln claimed the slave states did not have the right to leave the country and sent in troops to stop them, the Civil War began.